In the light of inconclusive evidence regarding the comprehension
of idioms by children with semantic-pragmatic difficulties, this
study aimed to investigate the extent to which difficulty with
idiom comprehension was characteristic of a group of primary
school children considered to have semantic-pragmatic
difficulties. It further aimed to explore whether such
difficulty constitutes a valid means of discriminating children
diagnosed as having "semantic-pragmatic disorder", Asperger
syndrome or high-functioning autism, from children considered to
have language disorders not primarily of a semantic and/or
pragmatic type. It also compared these two groups with normallydeveloping
children aged 6; 6 to 7; 6 or 10; 6 to 11; 6.
In view of the limitations of available procedures for assessing
idiom comprehension in children with semantic-pragmatic
difficulties, a new play-based methodology was developed for this
study. Supplementary information was obtained from an additional
definition task and from a symptom checklist.
The results indicate that the children with semantic-pragmatic
difficulties did, as a group, demonstrate significantly fewer
appropriate idiomatic interpretations and significantly more
inappropriate interpretations than did any of the other three
groups. However, the higher level of inappropriate scores
reflected a larger number of "fuzzy" responses rather than
significantly higher rates of literality.
Despite relative weakness, the children with semantic-pragmatic
difficulties displayed appropriate interpretations considerably
more often than they evidenced inappropriate ones. Within-group
analysis reveals that the children diagnosed with Asperger
syndrome or high-functioning autism performed less well than did
those diagnosed with "semantic-pragmatic disorder".
Nevertheless, both of these subgroups encompassed a considerable
range of comprehension ability. This variation appears to
reflect essential differences in the critical semantic and
pragmatic skills underpinning idiom comprehension. In
combination with definition task data and broader knowledge of
particular children, the play task may be used to identify the
sites and sources of idiom comprehension breakdown in individual
children.